On December 10, 2014, the Sisters of St. Joseph in London gathered to trim the Christmas tree and join in a world-wide letter writing marathon.
Every year, for the past three years, the Sisters in London have participated in Amnesty International’s Write for Rights. This event is always held on December 10, which is International Human Rights Day.
This day marks the signing of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights in 1948.
This year is the 66th anniversary of this ground-breaking document which has been translated into almost 500 languages and which is the foundation of human rights world-wide. Interestingly, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was drafted by a Canadian, John Peters Humphrey. The United Nations Commission which saw the document signed by the nations of the world to become international law included Eleanor Roosevelt.
This year, the Sisters of St. Joseph wrote 47 letters for human rights. The letters demanded a national plan
of action to stop violence against indigenous women in Canada; the release of a Chinese woman Liu Ping who was imprisoned this year for organizing a protest against corruption; and the opening of Canada’s borders to more Syrian refugees.
The Sisters also signed a petition demanding the end to torture. You can learn more about how to join in the campaign to stop torture here http://www.amnesty.ca/stoptorture
To read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, visit http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/
Mary Kosta